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Theologian Brent Landau presents the ancient account of Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, the three “wise men” who journeyed to Bethlehem to greet the birth of Jesus. The Revelation of the Magi offers the first-ever English translation of an ancient Syriac manuscript written in the second to third century after the birth of Christ and safeguarded for generations in the Vatican Library. Following in the footsteps of Elaine Pagels and her exploration of the Gnostic Gospels, including the controversial Gospel of Judas, Landau delivers an invaluable source of information to a world interested in learning more about the Nativity and the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

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Editorial Reviews

The tale of the Magi, or the Three Wise Men, is one of the most famous stories associated with the birth of Jesus. But as Landau points out, only one brief passage in the New Testament’s Gospel of Matthew is actually about the Magi. Even there the details are frustratingly vague: the wise men have no names, nor are their countries of origin indicated. But one source does exist, a lengthy narrative called Revelation of the Magi, which tells the story from the perspective of the wise men themselves. This slim volume is purported to be the first-ever English translation of the elusive tale. Landau, a scholar of ancient biblical languages, discovered the document while doing research at the Vatican Library. Ignored or neglected by contemporary scholars and written in Syriac, a language spoken by ancient Christians in the Middle East and Asia, Revelation of the Magi should be of interest to not only biblical scholars but also students of the Christian story who want to know more about these elusive fellows. --June Sawyers

Review

“Of the many recently discovered earliest Christian documents, Revelation of the Magi is by far the most fascinating. Landau’s presentationbright and sharp as a gemstoneemphasizes the unique challenge and radical depth of this ancient text’s theology.” (John Dominic Crossan, author of Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography and The Greatest Prayer)

“The fascinating story of the Wise Men from the East who came to see baby Jesus is presented, for the first time in English, in a remarkable new version based on an ancient Syriac text, and the result is a tale that is astonishing, delightful, and theologically sophisticated.” (Marvin Meyer, author of Gospels of Mary)

“Unread for centuries, the Revelation of the Magi retells the Biblical story of three wise men who visited Jesus at his birth, expanding their minor role into an epic tale. In a new, lucid translation, Landau offers English readers a chance to hear this remarkable story for the first time.” (Karen L. King, author of the Secret Revelation of John)

“This lovely text, skillfully translated and accompanied by expert commentary shows that early Christians approached the Christmas story with refreshing creativity. Landau is to be congratulated for bringing this important and unexpectedly influential work to light.” (Jennifer Knust, author of Unprotected Texts)

“Revelation of the Magi should be of interest to not only biblical scholars but also students of the Christian story who want to know more about these elusive fellows.” (Booklist)

“For all of [The Wise Men’s] popularity, the mysterious travelers from the East ... appear in only one short passage in the New Testament. Now, a first-ever English translation and detailed analysis of a little-known eighth-century text uncovers a far more substantial version of the wise men story.” (USA Today)

“This year a number of Christmas stockings will no doubt be stuffed with a copy of a beautiful little book, Revelation of the Magi. ...Quite luminous and wonderful... Like incense, the pages radiate divine grace, mercy, and love. They seem infused with light, glory, majesty, epiphany, and joy.” (Day 1.org)

“Landau shows, with skill and authority, how the “Revelation” contains a valuable message of tolerance that is needed as much today as in the years of its composition.” (Los Angeles Times (online))

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Four REVEALING Stars! This unusually fantastic story is not the traditional Christmas season story of the Three Wise Men bearing gold, frankincense, and myrrh and seeking the Christ Child. This is the first English translation of the only known manuscript of the apocryphal "The Revelation of the Magi": a lengthy document written in the Syriac language probably by at least 2 authors. It had been relatively unknown to the general public until found by author, educator, and theological research expert Dr. Brent Landau in the Vatican archives. The entire book is a very scholarly work which is divided into: an introduction dealing with how the author located and translated the document; the translation of "The Revelation of the Magi" itself with 32 relatively short chapters; and then conclusive commentary, analyses, and questions. These Magi, although their origin may differ, seem to generally travel the same path contained in the synoptic Gospel of Matthew and the general trajectory of: following the "star"; encountering Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; and ending with their journey home. But the wildly-miraculous specifics vary far beyond what is in traditional Christmas plays and the Gospels. Indeed, "The Revelation of the Magi", goes as far back as Genesis and as far forward as an encounter between the Magi and one of the disciples of Jesus evangelizing the Gentiles, years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The document's Nativity chronology between the Magi and the Holy Family is highly unusual and suspect.Read more ›

When I discovered Midrash as an undergraduate Bible minor, I was immediately fascinated. The Rabbinic practice of expanding upon the Biblical text, providing details and linking characters based on linguistic connections (the old Rabbis did not believe in linguistic coincidence) seemed to me, someone freshly interested in postmodern philosophy and reader-response literary criticism, as evidence that those impulses were neither novel nor illegitimate but simply forgotten in the heady days of the Enlightenment. (I've since made peace with the Enlightenment, but I still think that the best of what we call postmodern has roots in Rabbinic and Scholastic practices.) When in seminary I discovered that our library had a multi-volume collection of Rabbinic Midrashim, I made a point of visiting those volumes every chance I got, and although I never did work them into my thesis, they were a companion to me all through my seminary years.

The Revelation of the Magi, although it's a Syriac Christian text rather than an Aramaic Rabbinic text, has the same impulse as do those wonderul Midrashim: they take a tale of only twelve verses, a story whose characters have no origin save a direction (east) and a title (Magi) and whose plot tails off without any concern for what happens to them after they leave Bethlehem (T.S. Eliot poem notwithstanding) and crafts a wonderful and fantastic (in some older senses of both of those words) narrative that, until recently, remained untranslated from Syriac, waiting in the Vatican Library for Brent Landau to come along and put it in my hands.Read more ›

What a wonderful Legend! An apocryphal lost book recovered from the Vatican archives just in time for Christmas 2010!

This is the story of the Nativity, yet not told in the third person, rather in the first, from the point of view of the Magi themselves.

I will not go into the history of the book as the author does, but will cover some of the highlights. The Magi are not magicians from Persia, but are 'silent prayers', descended from Adam and Seth. Sprinkled with tantalizing theological tidbits (there is no original sin), the text summarizes the trek of the Magi from their 'country of the farthest East' to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem. Christ is revealed to be pre-existent, as is the Nativity Star. I will not reveal the origin of the Star, but will leave it to the reader to discover for himself. But I will say this...what a fascinating read!

Much here to digest, as the story is written simply, yet covers much complex Truth.

This book gives a very good scholarly view of this apocryphal text, while also being easy to read (no easy task!). The translation is highly accessible, and very heavily footnoted in a non-obtrusive way that further illuminates the text. The introduction and conclusion provide additional food for thought and are a fascinating look into the realm of ancient textual research. They also provide an insightful take on some possible meanings of the text and why this text is especially relevant now. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh perspective on the Christmas story or an interest in early Christianity.